CHRISTINA Z.

Christina is an elementary school teacher, currently at home on maternity leave. She is a homeroom teacher, certified to teach Grades 1-12, and has a passion for teaching math. She loves connecting with students, getting them excited about learning, and watching their skills and confidence grow! She has taken several courses upon graduation, including four Additional Qualification courses.

ERIN N.

Erin is an Ontario certified elementary school teacher that enjoys working at the junior and intermediate levels. She holds additional qualifications in special education, primary, junior, and intermediate mathematics, and senior geography. Erin has taught mainly in the upper junior and intermediate divisions but loves working with all age groups and levels. She loves to joke around and be sarcastic with her students while teaching and she believes wholeheartedly that every student can learn a subject no matter their capabilities. Erin loves doing crafts, is a Marvel fan, and loves the outdoors.

DAVID G.

David graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies. He completed his Bachelor of Education at the University of Toronto in the Intermediate/Senior grade levels. For the past 30 years he taught junior Science, senior Biology, Geography, Environmental Science and Cooperative Education at Dunbarton High School in Pickering at all levels including Grade 9 and 10 enriched Science. His approach to teaching is to infuse each lesson with an inquiry based hands-on experience, and to connect curriculum content to meaningful real-world events in areas such as sustainability, busines, and research. As a Co-operative Education teacher he coached many students on their career explorations and worked directly with partners in a wide range of sectors, from the trades to research. He is the recipient of five teaching awards, is an avid cyclist, and is currently riding out the pandemic in an off-grid cabin near Algonquin Park with his human family, and his non-human family of trees, birds, squirrels, deer, foxes, wolves, moose and bears (who are asleep now).

SHAMYA P.

Shamya graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Social Work in June 2020. She is currently completing her Masters of Arts in Child Study and Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, at the University of Toronto, with a specialty in Primary/ Junior grade levels. Shamya is a student teacher in a grade 4/5 classroom and has experience teaching students from the ages 3-12, in a variety of spaces. Shamya is a patient, positive, creative and outgoing educator who is always seeking new opportunities to work and learn with children. She has worked with students over the years as a summer camp inclusion counsellor, a Go Girls mentor with Big Brothers Big Sister of Toronto, in after school programs, as a classroom volunteer, a family programs facilitator at the AGO, and most recently as a primary classroom assistant at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School. Shamya’s personal teaching pedagogy is inquiry- based, therefore she structures her lessons using child centered practices that focus and are built on the basis of the students’ strengths, needs, interests and goals. She loves to support children in acquiring the confidence, skills and knowledge they need to become successful students and human beings in our society. She has a deep educational background and experience supporting students in the improvement of their reading, writing, and math skills. Shamya loves to teach because it allows her to support, learn and grow with students as they continue on in their educational journeys. In her spare time she loves to engage in group fitness classes, trying new recipes and spending time with her friends and family.

Tori C.

Tori attended Brock University receiving a double Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education/Dramatics Arts and Education. Since graduation she has become qualified in all grades (K-12), and has received extra training on teaching Special Education. After graduation, Tori spent 2 years working on the Niagara Catholic District School Board and had the opportunity to teach many different classes gaining experience over a wide variety of learning abilities and curriculum expectations. Tori has recently moved to Simcoe County and is a teacher with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board and is currently teaching language and math to grade 4-6 students.

Throughout university, Tori worked as a Sports School instructor and in her later years she was in charge of the overall Youth Programs, overseeing all of the camps at Brock. She also volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Go Girls’ Mentor where she lead discussion and activities promoting being active, balanced eating and positive self- esteem to young girls. While studying at Brock, Tori play on the Women’s Varsity Volleyball team and in her final year, she was appointed the Captain. Growing up, Tori was a swim and dance instructor and has always wanted to be a teacher, following in her parents’ footsteps. Tori is caring, outgoing, compassionate and she loves educating and inspiring children and youth today.

Satwinder O.

Satwinder is an Ontario Certified Teacher, holding a Bachelor of Science degree, followed by a Bachelor of Education, specializing in the Primary/Junior grade levels. Additionally, Satwinder has taken an Additional Qualification in Special Education, Reading and Environmental science and consistently participates in educational workshops to further her knowledge.
Satwinder currently works as a permanent teacher with Peel District School Board with an extensive 15 years of experience in teaching children and adult’s from several cultural communities. She also has exemplary communication, organizational and interpersonal skills.
Satwinder has been the coordinator for the Summer Literacy Camp for ten years which is hosted by Council of Directors of Ontario, where she coordinated the day-to-day program implementation by supporting staff to determine the best possible strategies to ensure high quality and engaging literacy and numeracy programs, recreational activities, collection of research data and overall well being of the students.
Satwinder believes that every student is a unique force with an abundance of talent. Her challenge as an educator is to provide learning opportunities that engage, challenge and empower students in realizing their highest potential. Satwinder is passionate about working with children and helping them gain the confidence they need to succeed. Satwinder ensures to do her best to support her students to help them reach their full potential. She believes in the value of fostering meaningful relationships with her students while creating a safe and supportive learning environment.
In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, making arts and crafts, and spending time with friends and family.

CHRISTINA G.

Christina graduated in April of 2020 from McGill University with a degree in Political Science and Sociology. Her interests in school also extended to Gender Studies and Communications. In September of 2021 Christina will begin a Master’s Program focusing on International Economics and Policy. While at McGill, Christina tutored on behalf of the Sociology department, preparing students for upcoming exams and assignments. As well, Christina volunteered at the essay writing center, where she edited and assisted students with papers.
Christina’s passionate about literacy and believes that skills in reading and writing are fundamental to success in any subject. She has worked extensively with students with developmental and processing problems, working to help the students overcome difficulties and obstacles.
She has worked with children in different capacities, ranging from camp counsellor, swimming instructor, and tutoring. Christina believes being patient and firm while encouraging students is paramount to achieving goals.
Christina believes in developing and fostering relationships with each student in order to create a comfortable environment that allows the students to flourish and learn. She is a firm advocate for different learning styles and tries to incorporate a variety of techniques that deviate from standardized education, as she considers each student’s learning style to be unique and accommodable.
In her spare time, Christina volunteers as a peer support worker at a rehab center for addicts. She is fluent in Italian, enjoys reading, traveling, watching and playing sports, and spending time with family and friends.

JOSHUA L.

Joshua, more commonly known as Josh, graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BSc specializing in Materials and Nanoscience for biological applications. He has experience working in a graduate level research lab which focused on creating artificial organs. He has received many merits for his mathematical achievements such as placing in the top 2% in the Sunlife Math Contest, consistently placing in the top 3 of his math classes, and passing the AP math exams granting him university math credits while in high school.

He’s very patient and has a deep sense of empathy which allows him to deeply understand the students’ struggles enabling him to build more personalized lesson plans for each student. He’s very determined to help people find the fun in the maths and sciences by helping them digest the material at their pace.

During his free time, Josh likes to play video games, lift weights, build Gundam model Kits, cook, and play badminton.

IVANA V

Ivana has many years of experience in teaching adults and children. She completed her Bachelor degree in Science, with a major in psychology and double minor in biology and biomedical communications at the University of Toronto. She has worked professionally as both an elementary and secondary level school teacher in Thailand. Ivana is currently pursuing a Master of Education degree with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
Ivana encourages students to do their best by developing positive study habits, goals for success, and methods of self-motivation.

ANAMIKA B.

Anamika’s love for STEM learning began as a young girl, where she turned her family bathroom into her laboratory and would do “experiments” in the sink with soaps and shampoo galore. Currently, Anamika is a Master of Science Candidate with the Biology department at York University. She graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honors Bachelor of Science, double-majoring in Human Biology and Psychology. She is qualified to teach all levels for science, and Grades 1 through 10for math.

Anamika has previously worked with children ages 5+ in her role as a summer camp counselor, peer mentor, and has valuable skills obtained through her various volunteer positions, and research positions. Her interest in teaching has been further enriched through her role as a teaching assistant for introductory and advanced university-level biology courses.

Her desire to engage students from different educational and neurodiverse backgrounds follows her into the classroom. Anamika believes in tailoring the learning experience of her students to their interests and utilizing various methods to convey information to help her students develop learning strategies and resilience in the classroom. Anamika is always looking to be a better teacher, collecting certifications and attending workshops to engage students in an online classroom, develop learning skills, course design, etc.

Originally from Boston, Anamika has made Toronto her home for the past 6 years. In her free time, she loves to bake, watch movies, do yoga and hang out with her dog Gervais!